Life’s a red rose

Arun Chatterjee finished the first draft of his book in 1974, but revisited it only in 2006!

Arun Chatterjee was fourteen years of age when he began writing A Red Red Rose — Search for Identity (Partridge Publishers). “I was in my final year at senior Cambridge when I started penning down my thoughts and it slowly started building up,” he laughs.

But life took over and Arun soon entered the banking industry and began a career in the corporate world that took up most of his time. And though he did write, it was mostly in banking and law publications. “I finished the first draft of the book by 1974 but it was only in 2006 that I revisited it,” he says, adding that the book is being sold under the nom de plume Aaron to avoid any confusion with his non-fiction writing.

Talking about the book, he says, “The main character is a boy called Deepak and the book details his journey through life, his brush with love, and his discovery of the self. It started off as being semi-autobiographical at first but later took a shape of its own. The book is set in 1956, which I think is a beautiful time in Indian history.”

A large part of the book is based in Dehra Dun, Deepak’s own home town. “I was an introvert as a child but I loved reading and have always been a voracious reader. I’ve always wanted to write and I thought I could do it, so I started.”

Schooled in DAV Dehra Dun, Arun went on to join a series of banks and is currently working in an international NGO. He attributes his corporate experience to enhancing his writing. “You travel so much and are exposed to a lot. It has helped me become a keen observer of life,” he says.

On future plans he says that he hopes to write more and is currently working on a new fictional novel about the women of today. “I think I can — I’ve met a lot of women in my profession.”